The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Measuring physical exertion with hatha yoga

    Does a typical yoga practice result in sufficient physical activity to improve and maintain cardiovascular fitness?

    First, the details.

    • 20 intermediate-to-advanced yoga practitioners performed an exercise routine inside a human respiratory chamber (indirect calorimeter) while wearing heart rate monitors.
    • The exercise routine consisted of 30 minutes of sitting, 56 minutes of beginner-level hatha yoga administered by video, and 10 minutes of treadmill walking at 3.2 and 4.8 kilometers per hour each.

    And, the results.

    • Results from the respiratory chamber and heart monitors revealed low levels of physical activity during the yoga session.
    • It was similar to walking on a treadmill at 3.2 kilometers per hour.

    The bottom line?
    Yoga did not meet recommendations for levels of physical activity to improve or maintain health or cardiovascular fitness

    However, the authors concluded that yoga practice incorporating sun salutation postures (shown here) exceeding 10 minutes might contribute sufficiently intense physical activity to improve cardio-respiratory fitness in unfit or sedentary individuals.

    More about hatha yoga is discussed here.

    12/3/07 20:29 JR

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